Relapse
by xChewy
Summary: Mariah and Rei have left the village and established a new life for themselves, but Lee can't forget the past. Seeking them out, he strives to violently tear their family apart, using any means necessary. Very AU, mucho info inside. Try it out!
1. Fourteen Years Later

Allow me to pull the red velvet tarp off of my very first AU fic: Relapse. If it doesn't suite your tastes, I totally understand, because when the idea first came to me I retched a little. But never fear; it will be action packed and violent and angsty, and at the gooey chocolaty center you will find awkward romance and family bonding.

… _Somewhere_, at least. Maybe not the center.

Anyway, I digress. Here's what you need to know:

Mariah and Rei are married, and probably in their… early thirties? Lee is about the same age as them. Kevin is their **son**, and he is fourteen going on fifteen now. I've taken a few younger characters and made them kids like Kevin, and taken the others and made them adults. It **will make sense** as the story goes develops.

There will be swearing and violence and abduction and, possibly, rape. If any of this irks you, then again, the back button has been conveniently placed on the upper corner of your screen.

… I'll give more info in later chapters if I can think of it.

Also, first chapter is just info. Sorry bros, you'll have to wait for the action.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Mariah glanced over her shoulder, watching as the ancient bridge into the village grew farther and farther away. Her hand squeezed Rei's tighter, the two of them sitting in painful silence as the wagon drew up the road around a bend. She felt a few tears swell up to the surface, but only one was successful in escaping as she turned her head back around and rested it against the shoulder beside her. The long silence followed them for four slow, tedious miles before Rei glanced down at her.

She had never left home before. He had, and at that point was eager to do so again. But Mariah... she wasn't. The farther they along they were, the more emotional strings seemed to strain and snap into two strands; one connected to the village, the other half trailing behind them. Mariah remained sober for a good while, only occasionally glancing over her shoulder.

"Are you sure about this?" Rei asked softly as another string seemed to break. Mariah wiped the tear from her face and looked across the rice patties that stretched out to distant hills. The gray sky reflected off the water like a mirror, and baby shoots poked out to watch them pass.

"I've never been so certain about anything... I just..."

"It's hard." He muttered, giving her a bit of a squeeze with the arm he had around her waist. "_I_ cried the first time I left."

Mariah looked up at him and smiled awkwardly. "You make it sound like you're some emotionless stone."

A toothy grin spread across Rei's face as he reached up and brushed a tear off of her cheek with his thumb. "Only when I need to be."

Mariah pushed off of him calmly and smiled, adjusting herself. Ahead of them, the old man who had agreed to take them out to the road stared ahead, deaf as a post. He looked back at them and smiled toothlessly before turning around. Returning the smile briefly, Mariah tucked her arms inward and pushed both hands against her stomach softly.

"And when do you need to be?" She asked, looked up at Rei with her head tilted a bit. His smile softened just a little and he made direct eye contact with her.

"When you need me to be." He said simply, as though it were the only logical answer. Her eyes seemed to melt some, and she sniffled, wiping away another tear.

"Well, I need you to be, _right_ now." She said softly, eyes dropping to his chest for a moment, lingering. He looked at her curiously.

"Why is that?"

Her eyes lifted up toward him slowly, and she smiled with more happiness then he had ever seen. "I'm pregnant."

-x-x-x-

_Fifteen years later._

"It's raining again."

"Mn."

"You could do your homework."

"It's done."

Mariah set the pan down on the towel beside the sink and picked up another, running it under the warm water.

"Well how about you help your mother do the dishes?"

"I'm allergic."

"You're allergic to the dishes."

"Yeah. I'll need an EpiPen if I get too close."

The French doors into the kitchen swayed open as another entered. "Don't try that attitude with your mother."

"Hey, look mom, dad is here. He _loves_ doing the dishes."

"Don't try it with me either, Kevin." Rei warned, waving an extended finger at his son. He crossed the dining area where Kevin was seated at the table, slumped forward over it's mahogany surface with his arms sprawled in front of him. Curiously, Rei watched his fourteen-year-old play a game of chess with the salt and pepper shakers while staring dully out at the rain.

"Why don't you make of list of the things you want for your birthday?" He offered, swerving around the island counter and accosting his wife from behind. Mariah smiled to herself but refused to look up from her work, even as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her toward him.

"Done that."

Rei rested his chin on Mariah's shoulder and watched her work for a moment before reaching around her and taking the pot from her hands. He started to wash it as she leaned against him, her cheek brushing his.

"Well if you don't think of something to do, young man, I'll put you to work."

"Hollow threat." Came the dull response, as Kevin moved on to fiddle with the cloth napkins. Mariah rolled her eyes, but both she and Rei couldn't help but smile.

"Why don't you invite Ian over?" Rei offered. "And while you're at it, Oliver."

"Ah, dad, _Oliver_? He's so _annoying_!" Kevin whined. He stood from the table and glanced over at his parents, sticking out his tongue.

"He's just having trouble getting used to public schools. You should be nice to him." Rei replied, finishing the pot and looking back for his son. He blinked, noting that Kevin wasn't in the dining room, and jumped as the mop of green hair suddenly appeared beside him.

"I'll hang out with Ian, I guess. But I'm not calling Oliver."

"Way to disregard my last statement." Rei said a little dryly. He glanced down at his son from the corner of his eye, while Mariah turned her full attention to him. She reached out her arm, planting her hand on top of his head gently.

"Why don't you go see a movie with Ian, then?" She offered. Kevin rolled his eyes and leaned up against the counter.

"Why, so you two can have some 'alone time'?" He asked, using air-quotes for emphasis. Mariah retracted her hand and blinked at him, while Rei used his free hand to swat at his son's shoulder.

"Kevin!" He warned, soap suds flying everywhere. Kevin laughed and ducked out of the way. "Fine, fine! I'm going, cut it out!"

His laughter continued as Rei playfully splashed bubbles and water at him, chasing his son out of the room. Finally stopping, and with Kevin gone, Rei turned around with a triumphant smile on his face. Mariah rolled her eyes.

"You're cleaning this all up."

-x-x-x-

Kevin tossed his side back over his shoulder and turned down the front hall, snagging up a mint from the glass candy dish on the table beside the door.

"I'll be back around five!" he called. His parents were still in the kitchen, talking animatedly about something or other. As he pulled the large front door open, he discovered the rain was heavier then he had thought, and pulled up his hood.

"Okay honey! Be safe, alright? Call if you need a ride!" His mother called from the kitchen. "Okay," he called back, stepping onto their front porch reluctantly. The smell of rain and freshly cut grass was heavy, as his father had just mowed the lawn the day before. When he closed the door, the smell of scented candles and the warmth of his home seemed cut off from him, and he darted across the porch unwillingly.

"This movie had better be good," he muttered, sliding over the damp pavement with every intention of getting his bike from the garage and getting to the theater quickly. In minutes he was pushing off down the driveway, coasting on the decline before he swerved onto the empty street. They lived on top of a hill, and the houses were surrounded by tall fir trees that blocked the view of the town around them. As he swerved down the road farther, the wind blowing his bangs from his face, the trees vanished and gave way to blocks of houses, all leading up to a large blue expanse of water. Even on such a dreary day, the ocean was startlingly spectacular.

Distracted with the view, Kevin didn't notice the black car parked along side of the road. It stood out in the upscale neighborhood, its scuffed paint like nothing you would find among the nice houses. Kevin coasted right passed it, never thinking that someone was in it, staring back up the street at his home.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

And we're off. Suspicious foreboding plot device, anyone?


	2. She Has A Son

Aqui es capitulo dos, amigos.

Hahahahahahahahahahaaaaaa I'm done with Spanish classes for the year. To celebrate I will update this fic that has nothing to do with Spanish, classes, school, or my life.

CONFRENTATION TIME:

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"I've gotta head in for a few hours. Something about a huge party coming tonight, not being enough hands, yadda yadda." Rei said, side stepping into the front hall and planting a kiss on Mariah's cheek. He stood perfectly on one foot for a moment, balancing his coat and backpack while he nudged the door open with the extended tip of his shoe. Leaning toward his wife, he kissed her again before straightening up and moving to leave.

"Kai pushes you too hard, Rei." Mariah said, a little offended that he had to leave on such short notice. "If he does this one more time, I'm going down to that restaurant and giving him a good talking to."

Rei laughed. "I love you too. If Kevin calls and needs a ride, tell him I can pick him up around five thirty."

A sigh. "Alright. Don't stay too late tonight, you hear me?"

"Right!" Rei called, the door closing behind him swiftly. Mariah remained in the entry way for a few moments before turning with a sigh and wandering into the kitchen.

_I really should be thankful_, she thought almost bitterly. _He did help Rei get a job when we first got here_.

True, Kai had been their strongest connection when they made it out of China. Rich as he was, the Russian millionaire had settled in a nice ocean-front manner about thirty minutes away, and from there he managed his company almost entirely. Though he denied it, Mariah had always had a feeling that he only opened the restaurant when he knew Rei was in need of work. How else would he become the head chef so fast?

Mariah sat down at the kitchen table and, after a moment of staring at them, picked up the salt and pepper shakers. She turned them in her fingers curiously, noticing suddenly that the metal head of the salt shaker was horribly dented. She looked at it a moment, unsure of what had happened, before she sighed.

"Kevin." She muttered, smiling despite herself. Must he destroy _everything_ with those stupid experiments?

A knock, at the front door. Mariah blinked, turning her head in the direction of the entrance to her home, and stood slowly. When the knock came again, she walked out of the room without much thought. Passing through the dining room, a white cat meowed as she passed, and she momentarily ran her hand down its back as she moved.

The knock came a third time. She sighed, rolling her eyes, and stepped up to the door quickly. What, had Rei forgotten his keys again?

The heavy door retracted inward as she pulled it open. Her eyes, having been looking straight ahead, met a stubble-covered chin with a pale scar on its left side. Looking upward, Mariah found herself blinking in surprise.

There was a long silence, chorused only by the patter of the falling rain beyond the overhang of the porch. The man looked right back at her, with some sort of mellow surprise in his deep golden eyes. After a moment, Mariah took a slow step back into her house and dropped her hands to her sides.

"Lee?"

-x-x-x-

The tea cup clinked against the saucer as Lee set it down stiffly. From his place at the island counter, he watched Mariah's every move in the corner of his eye. She was standing across from him, leaned against the wall with one arm crossed over her chest, the other holding her own cup carefully. She looked at him with an awkward smile.

"I'm sorry, I just... wasn't expecting you. It's been so long." She muttered as some sort of awkward excuse for the premature tea. She had hurriedly brewed it, trying hard to keep her breathing even while he had looked around at every detail of her kitchen.

"Well yes." Lee replied, looking straight at her. "It's to be expected when you don't leave any trace of where you went."

The smile fell from her face for a fraction of a second before she pulled it back on, more forced than before. "We didn't mean it to be like that."

Lee narrowed his eyes, just slightly. He turned the cup in his fingers, slowly feeling the heat of the porcelain against his skin. "You expect me to believe that?" He asked passively. Though it didn't sound threatening, Mariah bristled. Finally, the smile faded.

"... You think we left because of you?"

"Why else would you?" Lee replied instantly, snapping his gaze back up at her. His eyebrows were furrowed heavily, and he looked as though he had been waiting for this for years. Mariah stepped forward and set the cup down on the counter top, directly across the island from Lee. She met his dark look head on and held it with equal intensity.

"You haven't changed at all. You still think everything is about you."

Lee set his jaw and clenched his teeth. "I loved you."

"Leeroy." Mariah started in a warning tone.

"I still love you."

"No. That's not fair, Lee."

"Why did you leave?" He demanded, pressing his palms to the counter top and leaning forward. Mariah did the opposite, stepping away from the island defensively and crossing her arms over her chest.

"To start a new life."

"Away from me?"

"No!"

"Just say it! Tell me that I'm the reason you left!"

"Stop assuming everything revolves around you-" Mariah snapped, lifting a finger toward him. Despite her intention to keep going, the sound of the front door opening in the other room stopped her. Lee stiffened considerably as both their heads turned around to look at the entrance. Whoever had entered closed the door, and the light footsteps were approaching fast.

"Mom, I'm home. Do you still really want that change back?" Came a young voice. Mariah turned sharply at the sound, having expected Rei's voice instead of Kevin's. Drawing a complete blank, she stood mouthing silently as Lee took a slow step away from the counter. She looked back at him for a brief moment, eyes searching for something that she knew she wouldn't find.

Lee's eyes were wide. He stared toward the doorway, mouth hanging open. For a horribly silent moment, the footsteps knocked in his ears before a small figure appeared between the open French doors.

Kevin blinked, spotting first his mother and then the strange man standing across from her. He could feel the tension in the air, but all he could think to do was look at the stranger.

"Oh... sorry. I'll um... be in my room then." Kevin muttered, glancing at his mother who tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and nodded at him stiffly, offering him a smile to show it was alright. He looked imploringly once more at the stranger before peeling away, disturbed by the fact that the man never once looked away from him.

There was a long silence in the kitchen. Outside, the rain had grown heavier and was thudding against the window mercilessly, almost in tune with Lee's heart.

"... You have a son."

Still facing the French doors, Mariah took a deep breath and slowly turned around to look at him. Why did Kevin have to come home early today? She had never wanted him to rebel and stay out to the wee hours of the morning, but in that moment she really wished he would.

"Yes." She said after a longer pause. Lee was staring at her now, his face blank if not shocked. His mouth hung open slightly and he tried desperately to form words in his mind, but nothing came forward.

"With... With..."

"With Rei. Yes." Mariah picked up the cup and started to sip from her cooling tea, having no idea what else to do. Lee continued to stare at her.

"How old is he?"

The hairs on Mariah's neck stood up suddenly as he asked the question. Kevin was turning fifteen the following Wednesday. If she told him that, he would know that she had been pregnant when she left. Looking away from him a moment, she lowered the cup from her lips and looked at the center piece on the island.

"Thirteen." She said with conviction. Lee looked at her blankly a moment before his head began to shake back and forth.

"So the 'Happy Fifteenth' card in the dining room was a gag gift?"

A few strands of pink hair fell into Mariah's face, partially shielding the sudden panic in her eyes. He set his jaw and looked down at the tea for a moment, but rather than speaking, he simply adjusted the way his coat sat around his shoulders, and walked around the counter passed Mariah.

As he passed her, she felt a crippling chill shoot down her spine. He said nothing, and didn't look at her, just walked out of the room. She didn't turn to watch him go, either. Lee's boots thumped against the buffed wooden floors, his large form passing through the glass paneled doors. On his way into the dining room, he noticed something up against the wall that hadn't been there when he had came in. Shifting his glance, his harsh eyes fell upon the small form of the boy who had supposedly retreated to his room.

He looked like his mother. Violet eyes looked back up at him, confused and a little scared, as Lee stopped a moment to look at him. Her son. Her son. She had a son. With him, that pig, that filthy _pig_.

In only a matter of seconds, Lee was at the door. He had turned quickly, unable to stand up to the look the boy was giving him. Fifteen years old. Her son. Alive, this whole time, and he had no idea.

She had a son.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

But not a daughter. Hm.


	3. Ease Dropping

Chapter three. Watch, if you will, as the plot thickens.

Oh, and. Reviews are _awesome_. Just saying. Hint.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Rei sat down at the kitchen table slowly, his eyes searching Mariah's face in confusion. Without thought, he scooped up the salt shaker and turned it in his fingers, the dented metal head glinting in the light that hung over the table. Mariah sat down in the chair beside him, silently. With him sitting at the head of the table, her hand reached over the corner and settled on his forearm.

"What is it, Mariah?" Rei pushed, looking up at her with elevated eyebrows. When she had asked to speak to him, he had expected something trivial like his son's grades or the cat's health, but now he wasn't so sure.

"It's..." She started, scooting her chair toward him a little.

"Lee was here today."

Rei stared at her blankly for a moment before his eyes narrowed. "Lee?"

"Yes." She muttered, lowering her glance. She couldn't think of anything to say beyond that.

"... What did he want?" Rei asked. He dropped the shaker and turned his full attention toward his wife.

"I don't know. I think he wanted me to admit that... I still loved him."

"... Why?" Rei asked. He was getting a little worked up now, his voice rising above the soft tone he had been using. He was ready to stand up and question her further when she lifted two fingers and pressed them to his lips.

"He saw Kevin." She said simply. It was enough to shake Rei from his growing anger, and after a brief pause, he sat back in his chair heavily.

"He knows?" He muttered, looking toward the other doorway into the kitchen. While it lacked doors, it lead into a hallway that eventually met up with the living room and the stairs to the second level of the house. Rei stared at the blood red wall at the far end of the hall, his jaw setting slowly. "... How did he react?"

Mariah looked down the hall as well, as if she could see up the stairs into Kevin's room. "Not well, if I still know him. He just walked out."

Rei let his eyes fall closed, and he reached up with one hand to rub them before he took up his wife's hands again.

"Did Kevin see him?"

A sigh. "Yes. He said he was going to go to his room, but I have a feeling he was ease dropping on the second half of the conversation."

Rei felt himself nodding. "I'll talk to him. What did he hear?"

"..." Mariah shook her head. "I told Lee he was thirteen. He didn't believe me, and then... he left. Kevin came into the room pretty quickly after that, so..."

"Right.... Right. I'll talk to him." Rei said again, nodding. He heaved an exhausted sigh and stood up, catching Mariah's face with the side of his hand. He tucked some hair behind her ear, giving her a supportive smile.

"It'll be alright. With any luck, I'll get to deal with him if he comes back."

Pale amber eyes looked at him dully. "Yeah. With luck."

-x-x-x-

"You in there, kiddo?" Rei called through the door, rapping his knuckles just above the handle. Not bothering to wait, he lowered his hand and opened the door slowly, peeking around the corner.

Kevin's room was lit by two lamps, and their golden light emphasized the posters and bookshelves like two little sunsets. Across the room from the door, beneath a huge bay window, Kevin was lying on his bed surrounded by pillows and crumpled blankets. He was staring up at the ceiling blankly, his fingers picking at the headphones that rested on his chest. When his father entered, he rolled his head over and looked at him. Relief seemed to flood his eyes for a moment.

"You're home early?" He asked, pushing himself up onto his elbows. The headphones slide down the front of his shirt, stopping on his stomach. They were playing music faintly, and as Rei stepped closer he could pick up the familiar beat of his son's favorite song.

"Yeah, your mother called and asked me to come home. You know how she can be." He said with a sigh, closing the door and picking his way across the floor, making sure he didn't step on anything. He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking back at his son with relative concern.

"So, she told me that you came home early today." He started, looking down at the floor and letting his eyes wander. Kevin dropped back onto the bed silently.

"Yeah. Who was that guy in the kitchen with her?" He asked, trying to sound uninterested. As successful as he was, he couldn't mask the curiosity and worry in his voice.

"He was an old friend." Rei answered.

"A friend?"

"Yeah."

"... That didn't know I exist?"

Rei's eyes settled on Kevin's desk, where one of the lamps shown down on the curled form of a gray and white cat. It was sound asleep on top of his homework.

"... So you _were_ ease dropping."

Kevin's face paled just slightly. "Well... no, I mean, not really. I was going to go to my room, but I would have had to go back through the kitchen, so I mean, I would have heard it either way-"

"What else did you hear?" Rei asked suddenly, turning to give his son his full attention. Kevin looked back at him without lifting his head and bit his lip.

"Mom told him I was thirteen." He muttered. "... Why did she do that?"

Rei looked at him a moment longer before turning his gaze away and settling it on the Daft Punk poster across the room from him.

"Dad, why?" Kevin asked again, this time more desperately. He propped himself up on his elbows for a moment and looked at his father pleadingly. Rei ignored him until he had sat up fully and crossed his legs, leaning in toward his father.

"... Remember how I told you once that... your mother and I had left our old life behind?" Rei started awkwardly. What was he saying?

"Yeah..." Kevin muttered, scooting toward his father a bit before hugging his knees to his chest.

"Well... that man... His name is Lee. He was from that old life. And when we left..."

Kevin looked at him with wide eyes, bordering on fascination. Had the subject been anything else, Rei would have laughed.

"We didn't tell him."

"Mom was pregnant with me, wasn't she?" Kevin asked suddenly. The question caught Rei so far off guard that, the second he heard it, he whipped around and stared at his son in unyielding surprise. The second he caught himself, however, he turned back around and calmed himself.

"... Yes."

"I knew it." Kevin said quietly. Only a foot from his father, he rolled forward a bit and pressed his forehead against Rei's shoulder. "Is that why you guys left? Because of me?"

Rei turned toward him and gently pushed him upward, by the shoulders. He gave his son a strong, loving look before he spoke. "Don't you think that for one minute, Kevin. I didn't even know until we had left."

Violet eyes gazed back up at him uncertainly before Kevin reluctantly heaved a sigh. "... Yeah, okay. Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize." Rei said, pulling his son toward him into a side hug. "I should have told you more about what happened, I just figured it wasn't needed."

Kevin nodded and pushed his cheek against his father's chest, feeling his warmth and listening to the beat of his heart. It seemed strong and confident, and it reassured him of something. What, he didn't know.

"So, that guy... is he coming back?" Kevin asked hesitantly. Rei found himself shaking his head.

"No. You don't need to worry about him, okay?"

He felt his son's head shift against him as the boy nodded.

"Okay dad."

Rei allowed himself a smile, kissing the top of Kevin's head before looking back up at the poster across from him.

"Now tell me why you came home so early."

-x-x-x-

Lee's fingers drummed impatiently against the counter of the bar. The dim room behind him shifted with endless people, but time was irrelevant to him. A half-empty glass of scotch sat under his scrutinizing glare, tinkling each time he moved it with his rough fingers.

He had spent so much time trying to find her. Five years, all together. Five years of his life longing and searching and brooding. And when he finally found her, living in that house with... with _him._What does he find, looking up at him from his spot up against the wall of her dining room?

Her son. Her fucking _son_. She had a child with that bastard, and he couldn't get his violet eyes out from the inside of his eyelids. All that time he had been so desperate to just see her again, to breath in her scent and look into her eyes, but he hadn't expected her to have a goddamn kid.

Lee took another sip of his scotch, eyes narrowing farther. If she had stayed with him, _he_would be the father of her children. That runty little kid would be _his_. He wouldn't have had to waste all that time finding her, only to have the entire thing proven pointless with those violet eyes.

He clenched his teeth and looked down the bar. It was still raining outside, but dark now. Hunching his shoulders, he pushed off the barstool and stormed out of the bar, where he stopped under the awning and peered down the street.

... She should have married _him._ That kid should be _his_. He deserved her, he deserved her love and affection, he deserved that goddamn kid. He had worked for it so hard, he had longed for her for so long. He had _earned_ them. It wasn't fair that Rei had everything and he had nothing.

Lee began to stalk down the street, eyes burning. He deserved her. She should be his. And he would have her... He would take her away from Rei, and he would take his son too. He would tear them out of his life and reduce him to the nothing that Lee had been reduced to...

After all, he had earned them.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Creeeeeeeper.


	4. Nice House

Being home sick has it's advantages, I guess. I mean, you get an update, don't you?

Review would make me feel better. –nudgenudge-

Thanks for reading!

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"I don't care, you're staying home."

Kevin groaned loudly as a sign of protest, but the action only made his throat hurt more. "But _mom_, that's not fair! You've made me rest _all_ weekend!"

"No," Mariah said, trying to hide her smile. Something about her son actually wanting to go to school was funny to her. "Not _all_ weekend. Just the past two days."

"That's the whole weekend!" Kevin whined. His voice sounded as though it had to pass between two very close sheets of sandpaper before it could get out of his mouth, and every few words it would crack just so. He pouted, trying to appeal to his mother's better nature, but to no avail.

"You had a four day weekend, Kevin, and it's not your fault you got sick on the last two. Now get back into bed."

Kevin exhaled irritably before leaning around his mother, who caught him to keep him from darting out of the room. "Dad! Mom is keeping me from my right to a free education!"

From down the hall in their bedroom, Mariah could hear Rei laugh. He sounded as though he was brushing his teeth.

"Don't drag your father into this, young man." Mariah warned, pushing Kevin back across his room toward his bed. "You're sick. Act sick."

"No! I have to go to school today, Ian and I have a presentation in Biology!"

"You're taking Physics."

Kevin opened his mouth to retaliate, but nothing came to mind. Defeated, he took a deep breath and turned toward his mother in one last attempt to plea for freedom, but he was interrupted by a coughing spell. The sound of her son hacking only solidified the certainty of her decision, and by the time he was done Kevin was back under the blankets with his head pressed into a very fat pillow.

"This is child abuse." He growled, his voice breaking on the tail end of the sentence. Mariah rolled her eyes and pulled the drapes closed behind him, hiding the bay window from view and plunging the room into darkness.

"I love you." She said, kissing his forehead before straightening up and starting out of the room. "I'll be home until two, and I don't want to see you out of bed before noon. Got it?"

Kevin muttered something in an agreeing tone, but the pillows and blankets muffled it.

"If you hadn't come home from the theater early, none of this would have happened, you know." She said, glancing back at him while she tugged on the door handle. He groaned.

"Thanks for the reminder." Came the bitter response, just as Mariah pulled the door closed. She smiled despite herself as Rei wandered toward her, buttoning up a white oxford shirt as he moved.

"You're a miracle worker. I would never have been able to do that."

"You're a pushover." Mariah said with a smile, rolling her eyes. "You always give him what he wants."

"That's not true." Rei responded, sounding a little offended.

"Oh?" Mariah started, wandering down the hallway toward the stairs. "What about that time he asked for that camera?"

"He _uses_the camera."

"And remember the iPod?"

"He uses that too."

"The foot bath?" She asked in a more exasperated tone, glancing at him with elevated eyebrows. "We both know he was testing you with that one."

"_You_use that, Mariah."

The smile returned to her face then, as they reached the bottom of the stairs and turned down the hall toward the kitchen. They walked in silence for a short time before finding themselves in the front hall, Rei's coat and backpack waiting for him on the bench.

"... Try to leave early, if you can." Mariah said quietly, moving close to Rei and leaning against him for support. He wrapped his arms around her warmly, kissing her forehead.

"Everything will be okay. You don't have to worry about him, Mariah."

"He knows where we live. What's to stop him from coming back?"

"Me." Rei said evenly, leaning away from her so that she could look him in the eye. They held the gaze for a moment before she sighed and nodded.

"I'll make sure Kevin eats something before I go." She said, changing the subject. This, of course, only rose the same pressing question into the air around them; a question they had been ignoring with passion since Lee had showed up.

"He'll... be fine alone, won't he?"

"Yeah." Rei said quickly, nodding. "Yeah, he'll be just fine. Don't worry."

They kissed then, sharing a goodbye before Rei left for work. Even as Mariah strolled from the front hall, and Rei climbed into the new red SUV that they had gotten for their anniversary that year, that question hung around them like a weight they couldn't shake.

What would Lee do now that he knew about Kevin?

-x-x-x-

"Easy with the fire there, James." Rei called, waving across the kitchen to one of his chefs. The addressed nodded at him and smiled, calling a 'goodbye' that fell into the chorus of all the other farewells.

"And don't abuse that oregano!"

"Gotcha, boss!"

Rei laughed, shaking his head to himself as he strolled down the back steps of the restaurant. The door swung closed behind him as he crossed the small employee parking lot to the same SUV he had taken to work. It was covered in small droplets of water from the evening rain, and looked as though it had been encrusted with a trillion little crystals. Climbing into the front seat, he pulled the door closed and started the engine, all too ready to send the whippers across the windshield and clear his vision.

The drive home was as easy and quiet as it always was. Getting out a few hours after rush hour had it's advantages, perhaps. His ears adjusted to the silence slowly, having clung to the constant noises of the busy kitchen; the smashing of plates, the eruption of flames, the call of one cook to another. All accompanied by a riveting smell from the food being prepared. Though he was growing closer and closer to his home with each rotation of the wheels below him, his mind pulled out of work much slower. Somewhere, his conscious was still back by that stove, hands earnestly working to prepare a meal so complex he couldn't even recall it now.

As Rei turned up his street, however, the feelings seemed to drain right out of him. They were replaced by a cold chill, something he hadn't felt it a long time. He shuddered, shaking his head while he turned up the long driveway to his home, eyes focused on the front of the house as it came into view.

A light was on in the kitchen, but no where else. Strange, Rei thought, that Mariah had left the living room so dark.

As his car came to a stop before the garage doors, he noticed a light click on in Kevin's room. _Well at least he's been resting,_ Rei thought to himself, rolling his eyes. Why was it that Kevin had spent years trying to fake his way into sickness, and lately he would get sick and lie to get out of it? Weren't kids supposed to hate high school?

Rei got out of the car and started up the front walk, using the small device on his key chain to lock it from a distance. He smiled at the satisfying little honk before he turned the handle of the front door and found that it was locked. Curiously, he looked at it as if expecting it to unlock itself and apologize.

Before he had a chance to fish his keys back out of his pocket, there was a loud click before him and the door flew open. Kevin was standing there, looking up at him with wide expectant eyes.

"Is mom with you?" He asked, not waiting for his father to recover from the scare he had just given him. "Where is she?"

The youth leaned out the door, looking through the night toward his father's car as if expecting to see his mother walking toward him. Rei smiled and looked at him, bewildered.

"What? No. Is she not home?"

Kevin turned his attention back at him for a long moment, eyes searching for something that he just couldn't find. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Rei repeated, the smile staying there as if it had no where else to be. Rei didn't see humor in the situation, but the grin wouldn't leave. He stepped into the house around Kevin, closing the door despite Kevin still trying to see out of it. "Did you just wake up?"

"No."

"The light just went on in your room."

"I was looking for my phone to call you."

"You don't know my number?" Rei dropped his bag and coat onto the bench beside the door. Finally, the smile began to dry up.

"I can't remember the number you gave me. You know, that personal one. Where's mom?"

Rei shook his head, shrugging. "I have no idea, kiddo. How long have you been up?"

"I came down at noon. She hasn't been here all day, and when I called the gallery," Kevin continued, following after his father as Rei walked into the kitchen, "Emily said she never came in."

Rei stopped. Slowly, he turned and looked Kevin in the eye, his jaw setting slowly. "Never?"

"Yeah." Kevin said, nodding. Suddenly, Rei began to mirror the panic on Kevin's face. "I tried calling her cell phone, and it went off in the living room. She left it here."

Well that didn't sound like her. Rei looked at his son with concerned, confused eyes before he slowly started to turn around toward the phone on the counter. Not that he didn't trust Kevin, but he had to call all the numbers he could think of for himself.

"And there was some note on the fridge."

Rei stopped, hand stretched toward the cordless phone. He turned his head back toward Kevin, not dropping his arm at all.

"Mom didn't write it. It's over here."

Golden eyes watched in a bit of a daze as the small teenager circled around his father, scooped up a small white piece of paper, and handed it to him timidly. Rei took it uncertainly, his eyes finally falling away from his son's to read the small black letters.

_Nice house, Reimond._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Uh-oh. Looks like someone paid Mariah an unpleasant visit. This can only turn out a billion different ways! See which one I chose in the next chapter.

Please review! I love you... ; 3;


	5. Rose Bushes

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I got a really good response with the last chapter, so I look forward to seeing what you guys think of this one.

There's more explanation in this one, for anyone who is still confused. And our favorite face-paint baring emo kid shows up! As… a _not_-emo-kid. Yay!

NOTE: Mariah and Lee are **not** related in this story. I'm not sure if I've said it before, so I'll say it now. They are not related in any way! I can get away with it because it's an AU fic. Hahahahaaaaa.

Enjoy!

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Rei gazed down at the tips of his shoes, surrounded by the small damp rocks of the garden. In only the moonlight, they would have appeared as nothing more then little lumps around his feet, but the flashes of red and blue emphasized their shape an unrealistic manner. A dozen or so yards away, two police cars were parked in the driveway. _His_ driveway. The rotating lights inside the red and blue bars on their car roofs seemed to mock him, prying deep into his mind and settling there without any intention of leaving.

His eyes closed in an attempt at blocking them out, but they pushed through his eyelids relentlessly. Sighing, he reached up and ran a hand over his face. The weight up against him shifted slightly, prompting his tired eyes to drop down to his son's small form.

Kevin pushed his face up against his father's chest, trying to bury himself in the unzipped jacket. It had been four hours, and Kevin had only said a handful of words to the officers who had questioned him. Nothing to his father. Not a word.

"Kevin?"

No response. Kevin moved again, after a moment of silence, and pushed off of his father to look him in the eye. He held the gaze for a moment before dropping it, his violet eyes vanishing beneath his green fringe. He sat in silence on the garden wall, pushing his hands between his knees nervously.

"It's not your fault, Kevin." Rei said quietly. Kevin shook his head, but said nothing. "You had no idea what was happening."

"I was right upstairs." He whispered, suddenly. Rei turned to look at him, his sorrow visible. Sighing, he reached out a hand and let it fall on Kevin's far shoulder, pulling him back into a side-hug.

"I could have done something."

Rei was silent at this comment, before a very small smile spread across his lips. "I'm glad you didn't."

Kevin looked up at him suddenly, eyes narrowing considerably. The conviction behind his father's statement was so unexpected that for a moment, he thought he had misheard him. Noting the confusion, Rei tossed him a tired, fatherly smile and shook his head slowly.

"If Lee had known you were there, he would have..." He paused, but Kevin's gaze had shifted down to the rocks at their feet, and didn't return. "He could have really hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Kevin asked. He sounded as though the thought was totally new to him. "Why would he _hurt_ me? Why would he even care?"

Rei looked over at the two officers standing outside their front door, talking quiet to themselves. They seemed to be wrapping up their initial investigation.

"Listen, Kevin." Rei started. Aware that he was treading in uncertain waters, he took a deep breath and removed his arm from around his son's shoudler, shifting so that he was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Lee was, at one point, a very close friend of mine. And your mothers, as you know."

Kevin just looked at him expantantly, eyes just slightly narrowed in confusion.

"And... Well, a long time ago, he... dated your mother. In a sense."

"What?"

"But he was so dedicated to his work, and his studies, that..."

"He _dated_mom?"

"Your mother ended up leaving him." Rei said quickly, looking up to meet his son's demanding look. Kevin fell quiet again, but this time the silence was almost unbarably uncomfortable.

"She said that he had stopped caring about her. And, after a while, her and I got together. Which was great, and _is_ great. Because we got married and had a beautiful baby boy together. But you know that."

"The guy who broke into our house and abducted mom is her _ex-boyfriend_?" Kevin muttered quizically.

"Yes. And... well, before we left... Our old home, that is. In china. Before we left, things got really bad there. I mean, we left for a reason... Obviously."

Rei was starting to lose track of where he was going with the explaination, and stopped a moment to compose himself. Kevin was staring at him, eyes wide.

"He got very angry about everything. He even tried to start a physical fight with me, but we both know I lack the inclination for that sort of thing. On the day your mother and I left, after we were already a ways away from home... well, that's when she told me she was pregnant. With you. So... he had no idea. This guy."

"Lee."

"Yes. Lee had no idea." Rei felt, suddenly, like throwing his arms around his son and never letting go. It was then that it began to sink into Rei's mind how much danger Kevin had been in. Even with Mariah... gone... his son was still here. At least he had that, right?

"... But why would he want to hurt me? I don't understand." Kevin said pleadingly. His voice sounded miles away as Rei's head reeled with the confusion of the nights events, all seemingly catching up with him at once.

"He was _very_ against the idea of me being any where near Mariah." Rei said without much thought. He paused a moment and rubbed his eyes. "I mean your mother. And... We both agreed, your mother and I, that... we wouldn't mention anything about you in the letters to our parents. So... your grandparents... don't really know about you either."

Kevin leaned away from his father at this. His eyes blinked through their confusion and came out with something akin to shocked resentment.

"What?"

"It's not that they wouldn't love you, Kevin, it's just that... if they thought we had had you out of wedlock - which we _didn't_, Kevin, please don't look at me like that - they would have totally shunned us. And you. And..."

The look slowly fell from Kevin's face, but Rei didn't notice. He kept blathering. "We didn't want Lee to find out about you, because we were afraid he'd really go off the deep end. So we..."

"Dad." Kevin said suddenly, nudging his father's arm to get his full attention. Rei looked toward him reluctantly, blinking at what he found. Kevin didn't look offended any more, just confused and sad. Like he had been when Rei started talking.

"You're trying to say that... if he had seen me, he would have hurt me because I'm _your_ son?"

"... Yes." Rei sighed, dropping his gaze. "Yeah, that's what we were worried about."

Kevin said nothing else, only fell back against his father and let Rei pull him into a suffocating hug. Rei kissed the top of his head and looked across the garden at the rose bushes that he had helped Mariah plant two springs earlier. The thought had him blinking back tears almost instantly.

The crunch of gravel stole his attention away from the bushes. A police officer moved toward them fluidly, withdrawing a small notepad from his back pocket as he approched. Rei nodded at him.

"Well, we've found enough evidence to classify your home as a crime scene, sir. Do you have a place to stay for the night, or can I help arrange something for you?"

Rei shook his head slowly, adjusting his arm around Kevin's upper back. "No, I called someone. He should be here soon."

"Very good, sir. Are you aware of what kind of vehicle he'll be driving, so that we can let him up the driveway?"

Rei sighed, his eyes rolling just enough to let a tear escape. He quickly wiped it away. "I have no idea. Something worth well over a hundred grand, I'm sure. We can wait for him down by the street."

"Alright. I'll have an officer accompany you until he arrives."

"Thank you." Rei muttered, standing slowly after the officer turned and walked away. Kevin rose with him, one hand curled around Rei's jacket like a lifeline. Rei put a hand on his shoulder and tried to give him a supportive smile, but it didn't come out the way he wanted, and Kevin just looked away.

"You called uncle Kai?"

Rei nodded mutely for a moment, before he started to walk, Kevin scuffing his feet over the rocks as he followed. "Yeah. He is insisting we stay with him."

"Like that time in the old house when there was that flood?"

"Yeah."

"But this time it's not water damage."

Rei turned and led Kevin down the driveway. Around the slight bend, he could see a sleek red luxury car rolling to a stop before two officers, both waving through it's headlights at the driver.

"No," Rei sighed, tightening his grip on Kevin's shoulder. "Not this time."

-x-x-x-

"I remember the drive being shorter."

Rei's words cracked through the silence that had built up around them. Kai glanced toward him, peeling his eyes away from the road for only a second before returning them.

"I'm sure everything about this night feels longer, Rei."

Amber eyes blinked lethargically out over dunes on the side of the ocean road. The rain had come back again, but only as a light mist, and he looked toward the sky in desperate search for the moon.

"That's fair." He sighed, glancing for the millionth time into the rear view mirror and finding the same thing; Kevin, lying down in the second row with his father's jacket draped over his shoulders. Sound asleep.

"Rei, I've been thinking."

"Shock-_er_." Came the dull response. Kai continued, undaunted by the sarcasm.

"Since you're not going into work until this is resolved,-"

"Who says I'm not going into work?" Rei asked suddenly, turning to look at Kai with narrowed eyes. The driver looked right back at him, holding the strong look just long enough for Rei to sigh and slump in his seat, defeated.

"Anyway. Since you'll be around my place until we fix all this, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to warm up your putter arm."

Rei turned back and looked at him with the intent to kill. "My wife is missing, I've been forced from my home, my son is in danger, and you want me to play _golf_."

"No. I don't want you to play golf, Rei, for god's sake." Kai sighed, rolling his eyes. Rei leaned back in his seat cautiously.

"I was just thinking with all the free time, you could practice-"

"I will _kill you_." Rei growled, his voice rising up beyond the intended pitch. In the corner of his eye, the figure in the back seat shifted suddenly, coming out of sleep. He flinched, swearing beneath his breath, and Kai turned all his focus onto the road.

"... Dad?"

"I'm here, Kevin." Rei sighed, looking back around and offering his son a small smile. Kevin looked at him a minute before his eyelids sank closed again, and he snuggled closer to himself, vanishing beneath the coat. Rei watched him for a still minute, the patter of the rain filling the air between him and Kai before he promptly turned and punched him in the arm.

"Ah!" Kai flinched, retracting his arm and driving with one hand for a minute. Rei gave him a raging glare before returning his attention out the window. Kai sighed.

"Alright, alright. Jesus."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

SETTING CHANGE HAHA

Also, oh look, Kai is in the story now. I wonder who else will stumble into this fic before it ends. Hmm.

Please review! Thanks!


	6. White Noise

JEE SPOTLIGHT EFFECT THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS

… Okay, I'm being a jerk. xD I know. But really, thanks for the reviews bro. **Reviews are just super awesome, aren't they?**

STILL being a jerk. Dang. Sorry.

Anyway, here's an update. :3 For you~, dear reader. It's longer than I wanted it to be, so sorry about that. But it's not toooo long. Hm.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Fuzzy static echoed off the close, bare walls for a moment before a loud click set everything to silence. Blue light appeared suddenly, flooding every surface in its way, and remained for several seconds before that too disappeared.

_"Daddy? Daaaddyyy?"_

A figure shifted and turned around on what appeared to be a very large bed. The face of the man that appeared before him bore a warm smile.

_"Yeah, Kevin?"_

The screen shook, and another figure climbed into the frame of the picture. It was much smaller, a young child wearing pajamas and clutching a sock monkey in his short arms.

_"Mommy said it's story time."_

A laugh. _"I bet she did. What story do you want to read tonight?"_

The child crawled onto the lap of the man as he sat up, adjusting the pillows behind him and leaning back comfortably. _"Night Pirates!"_The child cried, a big smile across his face.

_"But we always read that one,"_ The man laughed. Undeterred, the boy - appearing only five or six - looked up at him and hugged the sock monkey tightly to his chest.

_"But it's my_faaa_vorite,"_ He insisted, pouting through his grin. The man laughed and shook his head. _"Alright, alright. Is it in your room?"_

_"Uh-huh."_

A sigh, as the man ruffled the child's hair and lifted him up a moment, putting him down on the bed. _"Alright kiddo. I'll be right back."_

_"Yayokay!"_ Came the immediate joyful response. The video cuts for a moment, and there's a bit more static before it starts again, just as instantaneously as it had started. The room was darker this time, with only one bedside lamp on. Its warm glow seemed to be lulling the child to sleep, curled up against his father who had his arms around him, propping an open picture book up with his knee.

_"You ready for bed?"_ The man asks. The child nods and yawns, rubbing his eyes with the backs of his hands.

_"Can I sleep here tonight, daddy?"_

A chuckle. _"Sure you can kiddo."_

They shift, the child melting down into the blankets and letting his head fall on whatever pillow is ready to catch it. The man remains sitting up, helping the tiny form get comfortable. He leans down and kissing his son's forehead gently, a smile on his face.

_"Goodnight, Kevin. Thank you for being my little boy."_

_"Thank you for being my daddy,"_ Came a very tired response from beneath the blankets. A gentle chuckle comes from off screen, sounding like it belonged to a woman. It was rich and warm, obviously moved by the pathetic scene before the camera. There was a shift then, and for a brief moment the owner of the laugh moved before the lens of the camera. Pale cream pajamas and a loose bun of pink hair flashed onto the screen for a second before the video cut, and the screen flashed to static.

Lee's eyes hardened considerably at the end of the home video. He had swiped them from the living room of the house, having found them in a box on one of the shelves. He had seen them all about three times each, and with each viewing, he found it more and more frustrating that Rei was in them. He rewound the tape for a few seconds and paused, considering the movement of his fingers before he hit play.

_"Goodnight, Kevin. Thank you for being my little boy."_

_"Thank you for being my daddy-"_

He paused it, staring at the pixels that made up her son. _Thank you for being my daddy. _

"Your daddy, huh?" Lee muttered beneath his breath, glancing over his shoulder. Behind him, unconscious with her arms bound behind her back, Mariah lay prone on the bed he was sitting on the edge of. His eyes shifted back to the screen, meeting those little purple ones that were in the middle of a tired blink.

"Not for long."

-x-x-x-

Rei lowered Kevin carefully onto the bed, pulling his arms out from underneath him with extreme care not to wake him up. Pulling the blankets up over him, he sat down on the edge of the bed and pushed his palms against his eyes.

_This can't get any worse_, Rei thought, adjusting himself so that his elbows were resting against his knees. Heaving a great sigh, he lifted his head and glanced over at his sleeping son.

"If your mother were in my shoes," he whispered, fully aware that Kevin couldn't hear him, "she would handcuff you to her wrist."

The thought made him smile, just faintly. Mariah... the police had found small traces of blood on the kitchen floor, over by the desk. They speculated that she had been struck over the head, but it was all up in the air. Terrible questions ran through his head, making him hate himself just for thinking them. Was she hurt? Was she cold, and dying, as he sat there in one of the three guest rooms in his best friend's luxurious manor? Was she thinking about him? Was she scared?

The questions were only a portion of what was buzzing in his head. Questions about the wellbeing of his son, his job, what to do about the house - he couldn't go _home_, it would feel so terrible just being there - and what about Lee? What the hell could be possibly be planning? Was it even planned?

He sighed and rolled onto his back beside Kevin, who shifted in his sleep and curled up against his father instinctively. Rei's amber eyes stared blankly up at the ceiling for a few moments before drifting closed. The sounds of the ocean were faint and muffled, but actually _there_, and with no other form of white noise aside from Kevin's breathing, he focused his entire being on the sound of the distant waves.

He was drifting through a fog of sleep when he felt something push against his shoulder. Opening his eyes reluctantly, Rei blinked twice and recognized the crimson orbs above him.

"Rei, where's Kevin?"

The words echoed around him a moment before Rei sat up in full alert. He looked down to his right wildly, where Kevin had been sleeping only a minute ago... hadn't he?

He was out the room in an instant. Kai called after him, pleading for him to be calm, but Rei could hardly hear him. The sound of blood rushing in his ears played in chorus to the rapid beat of his heart, his feet carrying him through the manor and into the large room in its center. It was dark, but the huge floor-to-ceiling windows allowed the moonlight to flood in. Apparently, the rain had cleared away.

Sitting on the couch with his knees pulled up to his chin was Kevin. He looked up just as his father swooped down onto him, his arms enveloping the small body like a lifeline.

"Ah! Dad, what-" He started, but his father just pulled him closer. Kevin fell silent, spotting Kai just as he swept into the room. The look on the Russian's face seemed to explain the severity of the situation, and the teenager suddenly felt very small.

"Don't do that." Rei whispered. His face was hidden by a veil of raven hair, but there was something about his voice that Kevin rarely ever heard. A slight waver, just strong enough for his son to hear it: crying.

"Don't do that ever again, Kevin. Please."

Kevin felt himself nod, mutely. He looked back up at the moon, the object of his little adventure, and swallowed.

"Okay."

-x-x-x-

Kevin shifted from his sleep to discover himself back in the vast guest bed. The blankets, neatly folded the night before, were a mess around him, as he had managed to bury himself beneath them. Peering over the little wall of pillows around him, he stretched out and discovered his right leg had fallen asleep. His back arched upward as he sat up, and his eyes stared blankly at the limb for a long moment before he decided to walk it off.

Three steps out of the bedroom, Kevin began to wonder what artery had been cut off in order for such an effect to occur. The pins and needles shot through him uncomfortably for a few yards before finally ebbing away. As he strode into the living room, they were gone.

"Kai, listen, _please_. I've changed!"

Across the living room, Kevin could hear voices coming from the kitchen. He blinked curiously and slid onto the couch, looking out the huge windows like he had the night before. An endless expanse of water stretched out before him, vanishing into the horizon effortlessly.

"I don't care. The answer is still an irrefutable 'no'."

_That_ was Kai's voice. Kevin had grown up with it, for better or for worse. He was his father's best friend, after all.

"But it's not for me! I just need a little sum to catch myself up, and then-"

"Enrique, if you start in on this again I'm going to sick the dogs on you."

"You don't have any dogs."

Kevin glanced over in the direction of the voices, contemplating the pros and cons of a smile. The only risk it carried was if his father caught him, but he wasn't around. Knowing this, the smile spread without restraint.

"Would you like me to prove you otherwise?"

"... Uh... No. But... Come _on_, I never ask!"

"You did just last spring. And you haven't paid me back."

"But I _am_ paying you back, which means I _will_! Please, I'm tired of seeing Oliver struggle, and Queen isn't helping _at all_."

The smile vanished suddenly. Oliver? Could that be... Well, if his father knew about Oliver, he had learned it from somewhere, and that meant there was a chance Kai knew about him, so maybe...

"That's the excuse you used last time, only about yourself."

It's the same Oliver?

"Well I didn't expect her to help _me._I just figured she'd be more willing to help her own _kid_."

Kevin's gaze moved back to the ocean, listening intently.

"Then get a lawyer and bring it up with him. It's not my problem."

"She won't agree to anything. The last time I talked to her she was _drunk_, Kai."

Silence, for a few moments. Then, "She's drinking again?"

"Apparently."

Kai paused, possibly to think about this. Kevin blinked slowly, his head trying to sort through everything. Maybe that's why Oliver was acting so awkward and snippy. Kevin had pinned it on the unofficial 'Rich Kid Syndrome', but maybe...

Well great. Now on top of all the other crap going on, he felt like a prick.

"Fine. But I'm only giving you half of what you asked."

"Really?! Oh, thank you, _thank_ you. I promise I'll make it up to you."

"Don't."

"No, I insist, drinks on me?"

"Need I remind you you'll be paying for them with my money?"

The voices suddenly grew louder, and Kevin slid down on the sofa in some attempt to hide. The two men entered the room swiftly, behind Kevin and out of sight.

"Okay, fair enough. Um... Well, the golf course is doing pretty well. Stop by any time?"

"Ugh." Kai sighed, leading Enrique away from him to the door. "Fine, whatever."

"Great. Oh, I was wondering,"

"Again, don't."

The front door opened and closed promptly, drowning out Enrique's voice as he continued trying to make small talk. Kevin remained very still for a long, silent moment before the back of the couch suddenly shifted behind him, Kai leaning against it thoughtfully.

"Up already?"

Kevin looked up at him, startled. He should have figured Kai had noticed him. He was silent for a moment, peering up at the man with cautiously risen eyebrows.

"... Can Ian come over?"

Kai looked down at him. Never had he been asked a question like that; never married and without kids, Kai couldn't help but be caught off guard. He blinked awkwardly and raised an eyebrow, thinking for only a minute before answering.

"Sure, I guess."

"Cool. Thanks."

Kevin stood and evacuated promptly, more than ready to get away from Kai. Ease dropping just wasn't working for him lately. Kai watched him go for a moment before looking out at the water, a small smile on his face.

"This should be good."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

And now I've dragged Enrique, Queen, and Oliver into this. Hm.

I wonder what Kai is talking about. It's either giving money to the Italian, or having to deal with Kevin and Ian together.

Please Review!


	7. Family Drama

I wrote this in the library during school, with an entire sophomore class doing research around me, so if it gets confusing or vague, I apologize. But hey, look. An update. How crazy.

This chapter shows a bit more of Kevin and hints at some other kid-characters, and has Oliver. I still don't know if I'm a real Oliver fan or not, though, so I'm trying. Eh.

Oh, and I love Ian. Forever. Shut up, Macy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The gently thump of a cup setting down on the table was the only sound between them as they shifted the conversation in another direction.

"So, have you heard from Mathilda?"

Kevin could have groaned. "Guh. I forgot all about that."

"Well, you have reason to." Oliver tried. His voice was quiet, worried that his contribution would offset the mood, but Kevin just shrugged. Ian leaned back in his chair, glancing through the window into the cafe behind them.

"You should call her, though." He was saying, watching a twenty-some blonde bend foward to peer at the pastries behind the glass. Kevin rolled his eyes, fully aware of his antics.

"She's way too clingy," he sighed, "And I don't want to date anyone right now."

"Who says anything about a date?" Ian sighed, turning back around now that the blonde had strolled out of view. "Just call her. It'll take your mind off of all this crap."

"Ian," Kevin started, a warning look flashing onto his face. Having been best friends with him for years, Ian knew it all too well, but ignored it.

"It's just a suggestion. Look, Oliver," he started, leaning forward and gesticulating for emphasis, "Wouldn't you call her? If you were in his shoes?"

"Um... I don't think so. I mean, family life can be so difficu-... crappy, so it's normal to not want to reach out socially."

Ian smiled at Olivers attempt at dropping his formal elocution, but before he could mock him, Kevin's shoe pounded into his shin beneath the table.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Shut up, Ian." Kevin sighed, rolling his eyes. Ian tried to kick him back, but the result was a clean miss, and it made Kevin laugh. Oliver glanced toward him thankfully.

"Oliver's right. And we _all_ have family drama," Kevin said, looking back and forth between the two of them. Ian 'pft'd and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, _now_ we all do. You've never had anything I'd call 'family drama' up until now."

"That's not fair," Kevin challenged. "Just because you have a billion and a half siblings and I have none doesn't make your life more 'dramatic'."

Oliver smiled a bit at this, but neither noticed. They were at it now, and no one else mattered.

"Your parents are _artistic._ Mine are _Nazis,_and so are all their little carbon copies."

"_You're_ one of their 'carbon copies', you moron."

"Nono, I'm one of the three who actually have a shred of humanity in them."

"Humanity isn't the word I would use." Kevin scoffed, looking toward Oliver to see if he was choosing sides. More specifically, if he was choosing _his_ side. But Oliver was twiddling his fingers about and staring at the top of their outdoor table. Before Ian could retaliate, Kevin sat upright and turned his focus onto the Frenchman.

"You okay?" He asked. In a fit of hospitality, he had invited Oliver with them after overhearing the conversation between Kai and Enrique. But he had a feeling he was just ostracizing him, rather than helping him feel welcome.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Oliver nodded, trying to brighten up a bit. Kevin's face remained concerned.

"You seem like you wanna say something."

Ian leaned in then, suddenly interested. His look, although a bit harsh, consolidated a sense of confidence in Oliver. Until, of course, he spoke. "What kinda shit are _you_ dealing with with your familia?"

Kevin flinched, wishing that Ian hadn't asked that. But Oliver was silent for only a minute before turning his eyes to meet Ian's look head on.

"My parents are divorced, and my dad is having trouble with money."

"And your mom?" Ian pushed, not satisfied until he knew the whole picture. Kevin struggled not to bury his face in his hands; something about this was embrassasing for him, even if it was only Oliver who had the right to be ashamed. He didn't look at all uncomfortable, though. He looked as though he was challenging Ian, in a sense.

"She doesn't want anything to do with him." Oliver said simply, before turning his eyes away as means of ending the exchange. Ian opened his mouth to continue, but stopped himself when he noticed the harsh look Kevin was giving him.

"_Any_way." The neko-jin ground out, turning his eyes toward the street. After a moment, his eyes narrowed at something he saw. Ian rose an eyebrow.

"What?"

Kevin shook his head, very slowly. "Do... Do either of you recognize that car?"

Ian and Oliver looked in the direction that Kevin was focused, neither finding what he was talking about. "Which car?" Oliver asked.

"That black one. The old one."

A pause, before Ian spotted it. "No. Nice car though. Shame no one is taking care of it."

Oliver glanced toward Kevin, concerned. "Why?"

Violet eyes followed the car as it started out of it's parking spot and vanished. How long had it been there?

"... Nothing... I just... I've seen it before. More than once."

Ian gazed after it a moment before a small group of girls thier age strolled into view across the street. Oliver, however, remained focused.

"Where have you seen it?"

Kevin's eyes shifted back to the table top before lifting up to Olivers, almost hesitantly.

"Across the street from my house."

-x-x-x-

"Jesus, can this driveway be any longer?" Kevin growled beneath his breath, finally coming upon the turn-around at the end of the driveway. Before him, surrounded by a few trees but otherwise on its own, Kai's manor rose up to the sea as if it were a hand raising to tell the waves to stop. Green manicured lawns ran all the way from the woods at the start of the drive to the front steps, occasionally splashed with the exotic reds and oranges of perfect gardens. A low brick wall lined the circular garden in the middle of the turn around, holding back all sorts of plants and bushes. Kevin wandered around it and hopped up the steps, taking them two at a time, before finally coming to a stop at the door.

His hand was reaching for the looping brass handle when it suddenly turned on its own. The towering mohagony door pulled back startlingly fast, causing Kevin to blink and jump back on instinct. There, standing in the open doorway, was his father.

"Where have you been?!" Rei demaned the second his son made eye contact with him. Kevin's eyes darted away at the outburst.

"I hung out with Ian and Oliver." He replied, throwing in Oliver's name for good measure. Maybe it would calm him down knowing that Kevin had finally invited him?

"You've been gone for _three hours_, Kevin, I've been worried sick! What if something terrible had happened to you?!"

Kevin looked at his father, bewildered. Rei hardly ever _yelled_ at Kevin, and the two times he had, Kevin could admit that he deserved it. But this seemed terribly unfair.

"Stop yelling." He said, purposefully making his voice quiet in hopes that his father would notice and calm down. Rei didn't even notice.

"Don't tell me how to act, young man! Your mother is _missing_ for god's sake, how could you just vanish like that?"

"What could _possibly_ happen to me that's so bad?" Kevin shot back, irritation suddenly flaring to life in his gut. "Don't you trust me?"

Rei's response came almost immediately after Kevin shut his mouth. "_No_!" He snapped, grabbing Kevin by the arm and pulling him inside. The boy made a startled cry, stumbling and almost tripping over his own feet. Rei shut the door quickly and turned back to face Kevin, but he was halfway out of the room.

"Hey! Get back here, I'm not done!" Rei called, but he didn't make chase. Kevin vanished, out of sight, and Rei glared after him for a long moment before his facial features began to soften. Maybe he had gone about that wrong, but...

How could he just leave like that? Hadn't Rei explained the situation to him in perfect detail? Hadn't he made it clear that Kevin was in danger?

A figure appeared on the opposite side of the room that Kevin had vanished out of. Rei turned his glance toward him reluctantly, aware of the pain on his face. Kai blinked, completely unaware of what to say. Then, after some thought,

"You gunna keep yelling?"

Rei heaved a sigh and shook his head, moving hesitantly toward Kai with every intention of continuing into the living room. The Russian nodded to himself slowly.

"I don't understand how he could put himself in danger like that." Rei muttered, only loud enough for Kai to hear as he walked passed. Crimson eyes blinked curiously after him, and without thought, Kai followed.

"I don't think he really understands what's going on, Rei."

"But I explained it to him!" The neko-jin groaned, throwing his hands up as he dropped onto the sofa in the middle of the living room. Kai perched himself on the arm and looked out the tall windows. Out over the water, another rain storm was rolling in.

"What did you tell him?"

Rei fought the urge to slug Kai in the arm, out of sheer annoyance. Rather, he took a deep breath and allowed himself to look out at the water as well.

"I told him about how Mariah used to date Lee before we dated. Which was awkward enough as it was, but then he still didn't understand. And I guess I wouldn't either. So... I told him about why Mariah and I left - you know all of this, of course," Rei added, watching Kai nod knowingly before he continued, "And how Lee was really upset that Mariah chose to be with _me_. And that we didn't tell our parents or anyone about Kevin because we were afraid that Lee would find out."

There was a pause, in which Kai wondered if that was the extent of Rei's explanation to Kevin. But he kept going.

"So, I told him that if Lee had known he was there when he... Took Mariah... That he could have really hurt Kevin. Because he's _my_ son."

Another pause. This time, Rei remained silent, and Kai leaned forward curiously. "And that's all you told him?"

"... Yeah...?" Rei glanced up at him with narrowing eyebrows.

"So you told him that he was at risk... at the house."

Rei was silent for a moment before his eyes widened considerably. "I never told him that he's still in danger."

"Mhm." Kai nodded, more to himself than to Rei. "So your outburst was probably completely unexpected."

"Shit."

"Yhep."

Rei stood, ready to turn and fix the issue, but Kai's hand caught his arm. "I wouldn't."

"Oh," Rei laughed bitterly, "So you're a teen expert now?"

"It doesn't take a genius to know that he needs to be left alone for a little while."

Golden eyes dug into Crimson ones, looking for some alternate motive, but only found genuine concern. He sighed and fell back onto the couch.

"Okay. Yeah, you're right."

"I know."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

And now we have problems at home… Well, Kai's home, at least. Hm.

Please Review!


	8. Gunpoint

And the tension continues. D: Perhaps some **progress** will be made in this chapter, eh? I think so.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Mariah gazed sullenly at the floor between her feet. She hadn't been out of the small room since she woke up, and even though he had offered her freedom every time he brought her food and water, she had refused. The price he was asking was something she couldn't accept.

He was standing across from her, leaning against the desk. It was solid oak, heavy as a car, and along with the bare mattress on a box spring, it was the only furniture in the room. His arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes remained on the floor. He was contemplating saying something, and judging by the look on his face, it wasn't in her favor.

"So you won't even consider it," he said. It wasn't a question. Mariah remained silent, refusing to lift her eyes. She just hugged her knees to her chest tighter, her bare feet freezing in the damp air.

"Well then." His voice steadied considerably, and he pushed off the desk in an uneven manner. "That's too bad, Mariah. I was really hoping you'd turn around."

Still, she refused to speak. A spark of panic flashed through her gut as he turned to face her fully. His eyes loomed above her like the tip of a gun, threatening her with something terrible. She just couldn't tell what.

"Because," he continued, taking a deep breath and releasing it in a sigh, "while you might think I have nothing to hold over your head..."

Her eyes lifted, just a fraction. He took a few slow steps forward and knelt down before her, his words harsh but his actions gentle. He lifted her chin upwards and forced her to face him, even as she averted his eyes out of spite.

"There's always your son."

Her heart lept into her throat, suddenly, and her eyes snapped toward him. They widened slowly as he continued.

"It would be a real shame if he were to get hurt, don't you think? Surely, if you're still anything like what you were, you'd agree."

She pulled her head back, out of his hand. He dropped it, but remained kneeling before her. He knew he had her now.

"Which, got me thinking," He continued, standing promptly and turning to face away from her. He paced thoughtfully toward the desk, his words carrying a sadistic ring with them.

"Back then, if you hadn't left me for that _pig_," he growled, Mariah flinching at the mention of Rei, "than we would have had a son together. And I would be his father."

Mariah stared at him only a moment longer before looking back at the floor. He would be Kevin's... but... Lee stopped suddenly and turned to look at her, eyes set on an emotion she couldn't name.

"And I intend to set things right, Mariah."

"Leave him alone." She said, her voice far more quiet that she had intended. Lee looked at her blankly before a twisted smile pulled onto his face.

"Oh no, my love. It's far too late for that."

He turned fully then, and strode right back to her, squatting fast enough to make her flinch and pull away. His hands found her wrists and clutched them painfully tight.

"I'm going to set things right," he repeated, "Starting with my position as your husband."

Mariah flinched and pulled to get out of his grip, but he tugged her right up to his face. Through clenched teeth, he continued. "And '_Kevin_'s father."

"No! No, leave him alone, let go of me!"

His eyes narrowed. "You still won't accept what's going to happen? After all this time, I remember you being smarter than that."

"Stop it, Lee!"

She pulled a hand free, suddenly, and yanked it back before swinging it as strong as she could. Her palm struck him across the face with a resounding _smack_, snapping his head around. He fell very still then, still holding onto her one wrist before he very slowly released it and stood. When he looked back around at her, he was smiling.

"I hope your son isn't as poorly behaved; I don't have the same tolerance toward him that I do you."

With that, he turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door and locking it behind him. All the while, he ignored Mariah's pleas to stop, even when she pounded her fists against the door and begged for him to reconsider.

-x-x-x-

The sky, still light, no longer bore the heat of the sun. It had set only ten minutes prior, but already the few groups of people were packing up their cars and leaving the beach for the day. Kevin watched them go, his bare feet dragging in the warm sand as light faded quickly around him. It had taken him a good forty minutes to walk to the public beach from Kai's private one, but the bar of pale sand offered a very clear route home. In the hazy distance, he could make out the manor, still standing tall and alone.

He began to move toward it, wondering what awaited him when he got back. He had left his father a note on the bed, weighted down with the cordless electric clock to make sure it _stayed_ in plain sight. It read something like _Dad, went for a walk along the beach, to the_right_, to the public area and back. Don't_freak out_ this time, if you can help it._

It was rude, in hindsight, but at the time he was angry and had taken it out on the paper by underlining words rapidly for emphasis. He kicked some sand forward and watched the breeze carry it, noting that the wind was starting to pick up. He lifted his eyes out over the water and squinted up at the darkening clouds before quickening his pace.

The longer he walked, the more clear the manor became. About halfway along, however, his attention was diverted to something moving through the tall grass of the dune beside him. He looked toward it, struggling to see now that it was darker, and after a pause quickened his pace. Perhaps his father's worry had installed a sense of panic in him, but he had no intention of risking it.

Something moved again, following him. He started to jog, eyebrows lifting in worry as the wind grew stronger still. In the darkness ahead of him, a figure appeared farther out toward the surf, and he started toward it, hoping for anything; a stranger, a hobo, a pimp, just as long as it wasn't whatever was in the bushes.

"Kevin!" A voice called, from the direction of the figure. Nearing it, violet eyes softened from their panicked state; it was his father.

"Dad, I'm sorry." He said as he drew up in front of him. Rei rubbed the back of his head and looked down at Kevin, a sorrowful smile tugging his lips.

"No, I am. I shouldn't have yelled, I just... I was worried."

"No, I-... Yeah, okay." Kevin sighed, glancing over his shoulder toward the dune. Nothing was there.

"I thought I had explained everything to you, but I hadn't. And I'm sorry. But you're still in danger, so... you know. Let's go back to the manor and have dinner, okay? And put this behind us?"

Relaxed now that his father was there to protect him - and fully believing that he would do so completely - Kevin looked up at Rei and offered him a smile, eyes flickering toward the manor.

"Yeah, okay... Hey, dad?"

"Yeah?"

"... Do you think mom will be okay?"

Rei was quiet. Then, as he was turning toward the manor and was moving into a walk, he sighed. "I hope so."

"Hope harder." Came a third voice, suddenly. Rei and Kevin both blinked, turning suddenly back in the direction of the dune. Standing about seven yards away, a figure glared at them with glowing yellow eyes. Rei's matching set widened considerably after a moment of confusion, and he pulled Kevin around and behind him.

"Lee."

"It's been too long, Rei." The man said. Kevin stared at him, wide eyed. Childlike fear grew on his face as his fingers wrapped around his father's jacket. Rei's hand tugged at him, pulling him just slightly in the direction of Kai's home.

"Run, Kevin," he muttered. Kevin looked up at him hesitantly, considering it before Lee made up his mind for him. From the deep pocket of his long coat, he drew out a black gun that glinted in the fading light. Directing it toward them as one vague target, they both were prompted to fall very still.

"Lee." Rei said evenly, stepping in front of Kevin totally and holding his arms from behind. "Lee, don't do this."

"Oh, you mean kill you?" Lee said. This time, his voice was much harder, and he began to walk forward quickly. Rei took a few steps back, pushing Kevin into the shallow surf. The boy didn't even notice it soak through his shoes. He just watched, terrified, as Lee drew upon them, his head shaking.

"I'm not going to kill you, Rei," he said, almost laughing. He seemed itching to get through every detail, as if he had been waiting for a long time to do it. "Not until I ruin your life."

"Where's Mariah." Rei said evenly, not bothering to emphasize a question. The smile that was flickering on Lee's lips sprang upward suddenly, but only remained for a minute. The gun was only three feet away.

"Waiting for her _son_. Hand him over, you pig."

Rei tensed, his grip on Kevin's upper arms tightening. His son pressed his face into his mid back, trying to hide from sight completely.

"No." Rei's words rang strong and angry, his breath coming in awkward waves like the water behind him. Lee stared him a minute before shaking his head.

"You know what I'm going to do, Rei? I'm going to re_place_ you. I don't care if I have to force it, Mariah _will_marry me. And _you,_" he growled louder, to Kevin, "will learn to call _me_ 'daddy'."

"Don't talk to him." Rei growled, taking another step back. Kevin whimpered silently in fear, eyes looking toward the manor as if expecting help to burst forth from its walls.

"Yeah?" Lee muttered, steadying the gun and pointing it at Rei's gut. "Have the years blinded you, Reimond? I have the fucking gun."

"You're a coward." Rei growled. His breathing was growing shakier, and he realized that there was no point. Lee was right, and he knew it.

"We'll see."

The bang was absolutely deafening. Kevin felt himself cry out, but couldn't hear his own voice. Before him, his father collapsed into the surf, dragging Kevin down with him. He bent over Rei's form, unable to focus his eyes on anything specific as his head reeled. Lee dove forward just as Kevin recognized what had happened, and grabbed him up. He tugged him violently away from Rei, one arm looped around is waist and the other keeping the gun at the ready. Despite being dragged back toward the dune, Kevin kicked and fought violently, yelling and digging his nails deep into the skin of Lee's forearm.

"_Dad!!_" He screamed, watching his father grow farther and farther away. Rei looked back at him, watching Lee carry him off, struggling though he was. Rei curled awkwardly, holding his side even though the shock was preventing the pain from affecting him. His eyes were wide, but no sound came from his throat, even as Lee disappeared with Kevin over the dune.

Eventually, the sound of Kevin's cries faded, and all that was left around him was the sound of the waves lapping gently as his body, carrying the blood away in their surf.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I don't know about you guys, but things kinda sucks for Rei right now. (And maybe Kevin, but I digress.)

Please Review?


	9. My Poor Baby

Chapter ten already? Well, I guess it's time to really get the action going. This chapter will hopefully help to lead up to the really juicy stuff. D:

Enjoy~

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Kai adjusted the way he was sitting without tipping the screen of his laptop as it sat balanced on his knee. The uncomfortable hospital chair, although cushioned, provided very little room for him to feel at easy. Perhaps he would make a donation to the hospital, specifically intended for the replacement of crappy chairs.

Dragging his finger across the square pad, he found his way to his email and checked it for the hundredth time. The bold lettering of a new email brought both a sigh of relief and look of worry, but he opened it without much care showing on his face.

Kai, sorry to hear about all that crap, but my dogs are just that: mine. I don't lend them out to people just because they feel unsafe. -Tala

Crimson eyes narrowed considerably, and he moved to reply without thinking of the outcome.

Listen, you prick, my best friend's in the hospital and his son is probably dead. Give me at least three of your biggest dogs or I'll make it my personal vendetta to end your entire business.

Send. Satisfied, he leaned back awkwardly and peered toward Rei, still unconscious in the bed beside him. He appeared so peaceful, it was hard to believe what had brought him to the hospital in the first place. Kai's eyes narrowed further still at the memory of when he had found him in the surf.

When his eyes returned to the screen, another bold message was waiting for him. Despite himself, a smile curled the side of his mouth upward. "This should be good..."

Can't have dogs at the hospital.

That was the extent of the email. Kai growled something about arrogance and dying in a fire beneath his breath before replying.

Just for that, I'm employing your aid as well. Stop being a narcissistic drama queen and get your ass over here.

His eyes traveled back toward Rei, and the memories flooded his mind again. This time, he let them come.

He had been outside when he heard the gunshot. It was distant, but not far enough away for him not to duck behind the grill and swear. For a long moment he had remained confused, wondering if perhaps someone had taken a shot at him. But then he heard the yelling, and the horror that rang with it. He was running toward the sound before he knew it, making it to the sand just in time to watch Kevin's mop of green hair vanish behind the dune, a large dark figure carrying him around the waist. Kai had started in a run toward the boy, but when he saw the crumpled form of his best friend in the waves, gasping and reaching forward with one bloody hand in the direction of his son...

Kai shuddered and looked away again. Tala had replied.

Sure, Kai. I'll go sit in your living room and watch my dogs chew up your furniture. I'll even sit in at the kid's candlelight vigil.

The last sentence caught Kai in a bad light, but for once he thought about his reply more carefully. The sudden change in Tala's opinion must have meant that he understood the severity of the situation. So Kai wouldn't push it.

Hospital. Room 238.

The reply never came; Tala had left after receiving it, and Kai assumed he was on his way. He looked down at his hands, palms dry and flat, recently cleaned of the blood and sand and salt water.

"He took Kevin... Kai, he-... He took him..." Rei's words echoed passed him. It was the only thing he said until he couldn't speak anymore, so terrified at the thought of his son being with Lee. Fifteen years after Kai had helped them get out of China, helped them find a place to live, helped them settle down and create a life for themselves. Fifteen short, wonderful years, all leading up to this. To Rei, in a hospital bed, and his wife and son at the mercy of a crazed ex.

Tomorrow was Kevin's birthday.

-x-x-x-

Small fingers curled weakly around a fold in the old gray blanket. They pulled it closer to their owner, who shifted uncomfortably in his sleep, burying his face against it. It smelled like his mother.

Mother...

"Mom?" Kevin uttered, his voice heavy with the grog of sleep. His eyes blinked open, just enough to let in the pale light of the room. Rolling around, he pushed himself up and flinched, fighting through the severe pain in his head.

He was on a bare, stained mattress. His shoes and socks were gone, and his board-shorts were doing a terrible job of keeping his legs warm. At least he still had his hoodie on, a thin white-and-blue stripped thing with uneven drawstrings and a hood that was too big for him. The air was damp and cold; he pulled the blanket over his shoulders tighter.

Through the musk of the old blanket, he could still detect the consistent scent of his mother; like chocolate and candles, and the perfume his father had bought her for Christmas. She loved that perfume. He wrapped it around himself, drawing it right up beneath his nose to smell it. He was shivering.

"Mom?" He asked again, his voice hardly more than a whisper. He looked around the room, squinting into the dark corners. A large desk was the only other thing in the room, and nothing was beneath that either. Thoughtlessly, he reached up and ran a few fingers over he back of his head. It felt a bit swollen, and ached both externally and internally. Like he had been hit with something. He just couldn't remember what...

Focusing, he opened the floodgates for everything to come rushing back. The beach, the wind, the figure in the dunes, his father, the gun, the blood... The yelling...

He looked down at his hands now. A few nails were broken and there was dry blood beneath them, drawing a shudder out of the deepest reaches of his soul. It was his blood. The man who had dragged him away from his dad, kicking and screaming, as if he weighed nothing. As if he did it all the time.

His thoughts shifted to his father. He could remember Rei reaching out toward him, like he could grab hold and pull Kevin back to him. But he just lay there, holding his side. Tears welled in Kevin's eyes at the thought. What if... what if his dad was dead?

The door at the far end of the room opened, suddenly. Kevin looked toward it, still squinting a bit to compensate for the headache. His eyes fell upon a harsh, strongly built figure.

Lee.

"Good," The man muttered, more to himself than to Kevin. The boy's eyes widened as Lee closed the door behind him. He began to back up on the bed, his back hitting the wall before he noticed how far he had moved.

Lee was upon him instantly. He leaned in over the mattress, still standing with both feet on the floor. Resting on his fists for support, he locked his elbows and gave Kevin a twisted grin.

"Welcome home."

Kevin couldn't say anything. His eyes watered again and again, but it didn't feel like crying. He was too focused on trying to breathe. Lee, taking advantage of this, stood and moved around to the side of the bed, catching Kevin by the arm to prevent him from moving away any more than he already had. He sat down on the mattress, his back against the wall beside him, and looped a strong arm around Kevin's shoulders. The boy was shaking like a leaf.

"I was happy to notice that you look so much like your mother," Lee started. The only noise Kevin made was weak gasping. "It'll be easier for me to tolerate you, then."

"T-t-toler-" Kevin choked, twisting just enough for Lee to clench his arm muscles, pulling Kevin up against him and squeezing until he coughed.

"Sit. Still." Lee growled. Kevin stopped struggling almost immediately, and Lee relaxed his arm enough for Kevin to breathe before continuing.

"You know why you're so small and weak, Kevin?" He asked rhetorically, sounding something like a teacher. "It's because your father was weak. And you, unfortunately, are his child. But I intend on changing at least that... Until I father my child with Mariah, you'll just have to make due."

Speechless, Kevin sat and stared at the far wall before he had to close his eyes. The tears that had been building up spilled over and trailed down his cheeks, only to be interrupted by Lee's thumb as he brushed them away roughly.

"Don't cry. Look at it this way; you have a whole nine months to be with your mother before I get rid of you."

"R-rid of me?" Kevin repeated stupidly, fighting the urge to start fidgeting again. Lee chuckled, making Kevin cringe and sob.

"Well." He muttered, using his free hand to force Kevin's chin up. He looked directly into his eyes, that smile still on his lips.

"Unless you grow on me. But you won't."

Kevin's eyes flickered away as he tried to pull his chin from Lee's tight grip, but the man refused to let go of his jaw. He wasn't done.

"However, you're the only reason your mother is behaving right now."

Kevin's eyes returned, full of fear and confusion. The distant impulse to ask where his mother was came and went in a flash, completely ignored. Lee continued.

"So you're going to stay in this room, and behave yourself. And if you don't," he added, lowering his voice to a dangerous snarl, "I'd quite enjoy beating you."

Violet eyes widened. Finally, Lee released his chin and pushed off the bed, standing. As he crossed the room and pulled the door open, Kevin just stared at the desk, terrified and frozen in panic. He hardly noticed when Lee stepped aside and a blur of pink hair swept in, darting toward him and tackling him in a suffocating embrace.

"Oh, my baby, Kevin! Oh my god!" Mariah blathered, smothering her son with kisses and somehow not breaking her embrace. Kevin's eyes closed tight and more tears fell, but gradually he managed to work his arms around his mother. Lee had left, closing and locking the door swiftly behind him, leaving the two of them alone.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

If you thought they were in a pickle before, oh _boy_ were you wrong.

Review to find out what happens next!


	10. Just The Docks

Heck yeah. So, as you all know (unless you're reading this in the future, in which case it is no longer true,) it is Spring Break. And, like every year, I'm using it as an excuse to recalibrate myself and _sleep._ Along with that comes a lot of writing and drawing and surfing the internet.

SO. It's fair to assume I'll be updating several stories over the week-break, including this one, with luck, hopefully. We'll see.

ANYWAY here's a new chapter for you, because it's been over a week.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Kevin."

Beside Kai, a soft murmur caught his attention. He peered up from his laptop sleepily, crimson eyes slowly hardening in alert when Rei's eyes blinked open. The golden irises rolled around slowly, taking in the blur of the room before suddenly widening.

"Kevin," Rei repeated, trying to sit up. The heart-rate monitor began to beep faster, and in an instant Kai had slid his laptop off of his knee and was standing beside the bed.

"Rei. _Rei_!" He hissed, his voice quiet despite the small amount of panic welling in his gut. Rei fidgeting, pulling away from him and repeating his son's name again and again. Finally, as his eyes opened and the fog of confusion drained from them, his hands wrapped tightly around the front of Kai's shirt and he tugged him half-way onto the bed, until he was eye-to-eye with him.

"He took my son, Kai. He took my son."

"I know," Kai said quietly, as Rei went on repeating the statement. Gradually, his voice faded into a whisper before he stopped, relaxing back against the pillows behind him. His eyes were watering when he looked back up at the Russian.

"Is he..."

Kai shook his head, reluctantly seating himself again. "We don't know."

"So..."

"He's missing."

Rei looked at him, his mouth slightly open, his eyebrows elevated in disbelief. Kevin was... that meant...

"Lee..."

Kai just nodded. It was all he needed to do, all he _could_ do. What else was he supposed to tell Rei? Not even the most clever of Hallmark cards had created a way to tell someone that a sociopath had abducted their son. Rei shook his head slowly before dropping his gaze down to his lap. If the information had sunk in, it wasn't totally apparent, but Kai knew him better than that.

"They... didn't find anything to suggest he was hurt. Just tire marks."

"Tire marks..." Rei repeated distantly. Kai watched him carefully to make sure he didn't say the wrong thing.

"They'll find him, Rei. And Mariah."

Rei was silent for a long stretch of time. So long, in fact, that Kai eventually sighed and picked his laptop back up. Twenty minutes into staring blankly at the illuminated screen, Rei shifted again.

"He's really doing it," he muttered, gazing ahead at the ugly pattern of the privacy curtain that surrounded half the bed. Kai looked up, distantly thankful for the engagement.

"Doing what?" He asked slowly, frowning. Rei shook his head.

"He said he was going to tear my family apart. And replace me... Through force."

"Rei, don't-"

"He has my family, Kai. He's taken my wife and son. He's doing exactly what he said he would."

"He can't _replace_ you, Rei. No amount of force will ever make Mariah _or_ Kevin accept him as anything more than a monster."

Rei turned his head toward him, horror and intense sadness in his eyes. Kai blinked, startled by the pain he saw.

"That's what I'm afraid of, Kai. I'm afraid he'll really hurt them."

-x-x-x-

The leather glove stretched tight around his hand before he finally released his hold on it, letting it fit into place on it's own. Wriggling his fingers as a means of testing their feel, he sighed and started toward the nurse's desk, only to be greeted by a skeptical look.

"Can I help you, sir?" The woman asked blandly, peering up at him over the rim of her glasses. He fought the twitch in his eye and cleared is throat, pushing his hands into his pockets and listening to the sound of leather against leather.

"Yeah. I'm here to visit Rei Kon. In room, um... two thirty-eight."

The eyes stuck to him like glue for a long, awkward moment before she looked down at the screen of the computer before her. Her long nails clacked over the keys for a minute before she looked back up at him.

"And your name?"

He could have groaned. "Tala Ivanov."

"Relation?"

"No. A friend."

"Visiting hours are over, sit."

Tala glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the rooms, down the hallway to his left. He scratched the back of his head, more nervously than he felt, and turned back toward the woman, planting his palms on the counter top.

"Listen, lady, I know you're doing your job, but we grew _up_ together, and he's been _shot_. I need to see him, please. He's practically my _brother_."

The woman looked at him hard for a long minute before her eyes rolled and she lifted her hands in defeat. "Alright, alright. Go ahead."

Tala was of down the hallway before she had a chance to question him any further. The sterile hallway made his brain tick, tick, _tick_, and he needed to get _out_. The second he found the door he shoved it open, completing his performance with a panicked flair in case the woman was still watching him.

The room was dark and warm, full of the distant buzz of machinery and the gentle glow of a laptop. It illuminated the startled, scrutinizing eyes of the man he had really come to see, who watched him with mild distaste.

"Jesus, take your damn time why don't you."

"Fuck off, Kai," Tala growled, "You know I hate people."

A wry smile spread itself across Kai's face as Tala stepped in timidly, expecting a doctor to leap out from behind something. When nothing attacked him, he let his eyes travel to Rei.

"Gah. That looks like it blows."

Rei stared at him, eyes half open and slowly growing angry. "You invited _him?_" He growled, looking toward Kai for confirmation. He only shrugged.

"I need his help."

"I'm honored," Tala muttered, perching himself down on the table top across the room from them. He squinted through the darkness curiously, trying to figure out what had happened to create such tension in the air. "So what's the deal?"

"Rei's son is-..." Kai started, before glancing at Rei and softening his tone. "-... Missing. As is his wife. And we need to find them."

"... Oh. Is that all?"

"_Tala_."

"Right, right, okay. So do you have any idea where they are?"

He was answered with silence, followed by Kai sighing. "No. Just that Lee Yin took them."

Silence, again, bubbled up around them. Tala looked back and forth between Rei and Kai, both of whom stared back at him. "Oh," he muttered, after a little thought. "Oh. Jesus."

"Yeah."

"Shit."

"Tala, focus."

The redhead was quiet for a moment before he laughed breathily. "This is a bit more exciting than I had thought."

Kai pulled of his shoe and chucked it at him, pegging him in the shoulder. Tala laughed again and gave him the finger before looking toward Rei, who was glaring back.

"Well that gives us time, then. If I remember the story the way I think I do, Lee won't hurt your kid. Not yet, at least."

"Where could he have taken them?" Kai growled, pushing forward before things got out of hand. Tala sat back and chewed his lip for a silent moment.

"Well... If he was here long enough to stalk you, then he's probably in or near town. There are only so many good hideouts in a place like this. So, probably South Town, for sure. And then..." He looked down at his table and sighed, shaking his head.

"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to start looking."

Kai ran a hand down his face and exhaled quickly, leaning backwards. "Alright then. Any idea where to start?"

Tala rose an eyebrow and looked toward Rei, who was still glaring at him. "I'd say... the Old Mill. And if not there, maybe the old loading docks-"

Suddenly, Tala's face fell blank and a smile spread his lips wide apart. "No. Just the docks," he muttered more to himself than anyone else, before standing and sweeping out of the room. In his wake, he left Rei and Kai to stare ahead and blink at where he used to be.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Tala would make a terrible, terrible father.

Just sayin'.

Please review?


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